I didn’t record The Man Who Ate the Town podcast today because it was a slow day and I would have just talked about Thanksgiving food. I don’t think forcing topics is good for the podcast, so I didn’t. I mean, if you want to read about what I made, check out the upcoming blog post over there about what I did. It should be interesting.

No, Dear Reader, today, I want to talk about records. GASP! I know, right? It seemed like I had a lot of discussion on Facebook today about it and wanted to talk about what I listened to for a sec. First, I was doing some cooking today and usually, I listen to Amazon Prime when I cook (again… GASP…) but I’m trying to get through some of the piled up “to be listened to” stack that is amassing at an alarming rate.

We purchased a new four-cubed shelf for those as to separate them from the main collection. They’re not in any real order and some of them are The BCPF’s and some are mine. So, I did the random grab method with a little prejudice. If it was something that was The BCPF’s, then I put it back and tried again.

The first one up was Tales From Topographic Oceans from Yes. It’s a 2xLP that has four songs on it. Yes, one per side. I really enjoyed listening to 90125 last night and figured I’d go for the older, more proggy Yes for a bit. I can say that it was well done. It was a bit too deep for me, I think. As you may recall from my RS Top 500 list, I am not always a fan of long, drawn-out, tunes. I think that’s why I like pop music so much, four minutes and next. My ADD gets in my way. I didn’t really care for it.

A few weeks ago, I had to admit that I knew nothing from King Crimson. In my “bonus-stack-I-didn’t-know-I-had,” there was the greatest hits comp, The Young Persons’ Guide To King Crimson. So, okay, let’s do that one next. I don’t know if the production was wonky or what, but it was extra quiet in spots and, yes, I know with that kind of music dynamics are important and the breadth is vast, but I don’t know that this is what that was. Anywhat! It was basically “more of the same” as it was with Yes. It was good. Well done, even. I just didn’t get into it. I will admit that I didn’t listen to the second disc. Why? It wasn’t because I was ditching it. A package arrived at my door and it was one that I’ve waited a long time for. Which brings me to the next:

All That Jazz from Breathe. Yes, it’s some very sugary pop music but it’s well written and it’s from my junior-senior years in high school. I sang the songs to an ex-girlfriend. It has eluded me since I started my vinyl journey and was one of my most coveted. I found it in VG+ condition on the Discogs Marketplace (where, like the name suggests, you buy and sell albums to and from all over the world). That and another album showed up together. I sang several of the songs quite disjointedly as I don’t hear them often. I love that album and was so excited to have it.

The next was Hi Infidelity from REO Speedwagon. I had never given it a fair shake and it was cheap from the same seller on Discogs and shipping was free. I sang a good bit of those tunes whilst cooking, as well.

Next was a twofer that is unusual I found out. It’s Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot in the same 2xLP set from Genesis. I love me some Peter Gabriel and I really like Genesis but I don’t like them together, mostly. Nursery Cryme was their third studio album and it was pretty good. I didn’t know what to expect, but I did know I was going to get long songs like the Yes and King Crimson. I wasn’t wrong about that, but I did actually enjoy listening to it. Foxtrot, its follow-up, was good but I didn’t like it as well as I did Nursery Cryme.

I finished off the listening (to this point) with Midnight Madness from Night Ranger. Yes, “Sister Christian.” I love a lot of stuff on this album and that song, in particular, has a special place in my heart. I probably wouldn’t be either the musician I am today or at all if it weren’t for that song. I performed that as an audition to get into this “contemporary music class” in ninth grade. That’s where I was pushed to learn bass guitar and piano. It pushed me to be a good musician. Whether or not I ever accomplished that? I can’t say, but I wouldn’t be anything musical without that, at least not until much later.

That’s my day’s playlist so far, but the reason I wanted to talk about them was the fact that they garnered a lot of talk on Facebook and Instagram. See, I post every album I listen to, twice. Once in the #nowspinning Facebook group from Underdog Records that The BCPF and I, along with many of our friends are part of and then on Instagram copying to Facebook and Twitter. The group is private so only members see that and I’m not necessarily Facebook friends with all the members, but we get good conversations from it. The IG post carries to anyone who is friends with me and follows me.

I know I’m in a good spot when I get Doug Davis, Ed Bumgardner, Lee Wallace, Clay Howard and others in the music community, all of whom I respect as far as their tastes and opinions, to comment and start an hours-long thread about what is “good” or not, or what is a better album or why this may be overrated or this may be underrated. I love musical conversations and when my playlist is at the core of it, I feel all gooey. Okay, that’s probably pushing it, but I really enjoy it. I enjoyed my listening today for all those reasons.

Do you have any comments on any of those albums, or any albums, Dear Reader? Surely, Superfan Damien has some to recommend. I want to hear from any of you, your thoughts or recommendations for albums to listen to. They don’t have to be on vinyl but I prefer them to be. That’s what we’re doing right now. Thanks for indulging me in this long-winded post!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—“So raise your hands to heaven and pray that we’ll be back together someday. Tonight, I need your sweet caress. Hold me in the darkness. Tonight, you calm my restlessness. You relieve my sadness.” – “Hands to Heaven” (Glasper/Spice/Delahunty/Lillington)

So this week will be a mixture of the take from Underdog Records and a shload of records that I didn’t know that I owned. Let me explain. About 10 years ago, my ex-wife and my mother went to an auction (they were always going to auctions) and purchased a ton of records. They only wanted to rock records but it was one of those, you take one you have to take the whole thing deals. Well, I didn’t have a record player back then. So they got stored. And, I forgot about them. About 3 weeks ago, my ex-wife asked me if I got the ones out of the cabin. What are you talking about? We didn’t have any in the cabin. She informed me that yes we did. I thought perhaps it was one or two things that I had over time. Well, I had to go in the attic with my mother and she said, there are your records. I was looking through and just like a kid, kept saying these are mine!?!? So, I brought them home and am going through them a little at a time. Many rock albums to add to my collection and a lot of jazz, folk and classical, too. I did the rock ones first. Again, these are mixed here.

So, that’s a lot and that’s only the rock and few that The BCPF wanted to listen to. I have at least 50 more to put in that are of all other genres. This coming Friday is Black Friday and Underdog Records will have a ton of awesomeness for Record Store Day – Black Friday Edition. Go to the RSD website to find out what is coming. Jonathan said he’s stocking 90% of that list, so make plans now. And buy a gift certificate for someone, do it now and get an additional 10% added for no additional cost. And as you can see, we do a lot of cataloging with Discogs and we love it!

And RIP not only to Malcolm Young, but Mel Tillis passed away, too. RIP Mel.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—“Heaven. Heaven is a place. A place where nothing. Nothing ever happens.” – “Heaven” (Byrne)

I absolutely loved the selection from last week. Eugene and I were both taken aback by Jon‘s not liking it. Not only did he not like it, he “poo pooed” it, as Eug says. Well, let’s hit this week’s to see if Jon likes this one any better.

Like most people, if I knew anything about April Wine, it’s “Just Between You and Me.” That’s a darn fine song, to be sure, but the band is so far beyond that. In fact, I would never have known it was the same band; even though it’s on the very next album. I had never heard anything else from them and didn’t think there was any way that the band that did that song could have been on any lists highlighting “hard rock.”

It took me a few listens through to get what was going on here. I’ll admit it seemed a bit thin in the beginning, but also I admit that I wasn’t actually listening, just feeling it out while I did other things. There’s a lot of different styles happening on this album. For example, you have the first song, “I Like to Rock,” that’s truly rocking and then following that comes “Say Hello” which is more power pop. It’s all through the album. The very melodic and easy going “Tonite” going into “Ladies Man” that is trying to rip your face off. Great juxtaposition. They get a little prog-rock, perhaps a bit too much, on “21st Century Schizoid Man,” but then again, they are covering a King Crimson tune I think nothing Greg Lake is in isn’t going to be proggy.

April Wine reminds me, at times, of another Canadian band, Loverboy. Not saying they sound the same, just comparable. Then, you add in some Badfinger or Sugarloaf-like harmonies and it starts to spread the spectrum and style. There’s pieces of Judas Priest, a little Robert Plant, and at times, some of yet another Canadian group, Triumph. Myles Goodwyn has some serious range as the lead vocalist. From what I can tell Brian Greenway does some vox, as well, but I think Goodwyn is the guy. As far as I can tell no one is standing out as doing anything flamboyant. That’s not a put down. Steve Lang has some cool bass lines, especially in “Better Do It Well.” Jerry Mercer is solid on the drums, too. He’s a pounder, for sure.

Some of my favorite tunes on this album are: “I Like to Rock” as it comes out swinging and then pays hommage to the Beatles and Stones by mixing “Day Tripper” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” “Say Hello” and “Tonite” are a great one-two punch for some laid back pop magic, possibly precursors to “Just Between You and Me” that came later. I love the chorus of “Babes in Arms,” too. The rest of the album is solid and I’m glad it’s on the list. I would recommend this, for sure. Let’s see what Jon thinks and hear Eug’s thoughts. Thanks, Eug. Are you a fan of it, Dear Reader? Drop me a line and let me know.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—“Let’s go out and paint the town and we could turn the world around. If you say you agree, yeah, well that’s the way that it’ll be.” – “Say Hello” (Goodwyn)